Study: NJ Patient Notification Act Paying Dividends

April 28, 2020

Tom Valentino, Senior Editor

A New Jersey law enacted in 2017 that requires practitioners to discuss opioid pain medications’ potential for addiction with patients and to also discuss non-opioid alternatives when available appears to be making an impact, according to research released last week.

The study, commissioned by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, was conducted by Andrew Kolodny, MD, medical director of opioid policy research at the Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

Among its findings:

95% of participants said they now routinely warn patients about the potential for addiction compared to 18% who did so prior to the law being enacted

Nearly 5,000 fewer patients in New Jersey were prescribed opioids in the month following the law being enacted

The number of practitioners in the state who prescribed opioids for acute pain dropped by 1,000

97.5% of prescribers said they were aware of the new prescribing rules

New Jersey was the first state in the nation to enact a patient notification law around the addictive potential of prescription opioids; 17 states have since followed.